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“Let’s go do this,” he said.
We were both off the motorcycle by then, and he seemed ready to charge back into the sports bar. But I reached out and grabbed his hand, stopping him.
“What exactly are we doing?” I asked, fully aware of the nervousness in my own voice.
“Talking your sister and my brother out of filing the paperwork, right?” he asked. “Is that what you want to do?”
His eyes were filled with something I hadn’t seen in a long time. Compassion, caring, maybe even love…
No, that was absurd. There was no such thing as love at first sight. Lust, maybe, but love? No way.
But the memory of our kisses stopped my thoughts. There was a moment, when he was moving inside me, that our kisses shifted from foreplay to something so much more. And when it was over and he looked down at me, I felt safe, secure, protected. I felt like this was a man who would do anything for me, including breaking up my sister’s marriage.
“We have a pact,” he said. “If you can walk away in the morning, I’ll help you talk the new couple into waiting before they file the paperwork.”
“Is that what we said?” I asked.
My voice sounded a little off. Higher pitched than normal. This was all happening so fast. I needed time to think. Time to process all that had happened. I hadn’t even known the guy a few hours ago, and now I was considering…
Considering what? Staying in town? That was absurd. Or was it?
“Of course, there’s the flip side of that,” he said. “If our night together leaves you wanting more, we let our siblings go on with their lives.”
“And then what?” I asked. I was speaking more to myself than him. “I have to go home eventually. It’s where my job is.”
It was where my sister’s job was too, but that didn’t seem to have stopped her. But I couldn’t give up my entire life to move to some mountain town. I was an HR recruiter. How would I recruit people in a town with no jobs?
“So, we go break them up,” he said. “A deal’s a deal. I can still give you a night to remember in your hotel room afterward, though.”
He seemed in good spirits about the rejection, which bugged me more than I wanted to admit. He was giving me an out. I could walk away in the morning, maybe even toss my sister in my car, and get the hell out of here.
But then what?
Those words from earlier hit me in a different direction. Go back to my tiny apartment with nothing but my westie and some memories of the best sex of my life?
“Come on,” Jude said, grabbing my hand. “Let’s go see what we’re missing.”
I hadn’t even had a chance to check my appearance, and now I was facing a roomful of people. That hit me only as he held the door open for me and I stepped inside. The sports bar was like before, but this time, voices filled the air rather than music. Nobody even glanced in our direction.
“Let’s do this,” he said.
He put his arm around me and led me toward my sister and his brother. They were both smiling as they talked to a couple I didn’t recognize, but Zoey’s gaze landed on me as we got closer, and that smile faded a little.
“Where have you been?” she asked.
That was when people noticed us. Conversation stalled, and the noise lowered, at least in this area of the bar.
“Can we speak with you a second?” Jude asked.
Now my sister’s eyes narrowed. I couldn’t blame her. This no doubt made zero sense to either her or Jared. Just minutes ago, they’d been getting married with two people serving as maid of honor and best man. Neither of those people had even known each other. And now they looked like they were a couple.
“Sure.” Zoey looked over at Jared, who shrugged. “Excuse us.”
The people they’d been speaking to didn’t seem to mind stepping aside to let Jared and Zoey by. Jude led us over to a quieter spot of the bar. None of it was quiet, but at least in this corner, we could hear ourselves think. By then, he was no longer touching me—not holding my hand, not with his arm around me, not with his hand on the small of my back. I longed for his touch.
“What’s up?” Zoey asked, looking from him to me.
I snuggled as close as I could get to him, our arms touching. But he made no move to be affectionate. That was probably for the best, but it bugged me.
